Mungret St. Pauls

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Mungret St. Pauls is situated near the historic ancient abbey which is believed to have been erected in Mungret in the fourth century.

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The club was one of the first clubs formed in the Limerick County after the establishment of the GAA It was somewhat unique in that there were thentwo clubs in the same parish – Mungret and Crecora. The club was very much to the fore in the early days of the GAA but, like many other clubs of the time, the “Parnell split” took its toll on club membership with the result that the club disbanded.

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The club entered the 20th Century in great style, winning the Ferrybridge Tournament. This was played in 1901 and is said to be the first trophy ever won by a Mungret team.

 

In 1929 the club was reformed by the then Principal of Mungret National School,Mr.P.J.Larkin,who was instrumental in sparking a G.A.A. revival in the parish.

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Facilities

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Up to 1970, the present St. Paul’s parish was an integral part of the Mungret parish when the suburbs of Limerick expanded with new housing. Games were played in the Monteen area at the village where St. Oliver Plunkett’s church now stands and in more recent times on the County Council ground nearby. A delegation from the club met with Irish Cement Ltd. in 1983 to discuss the possibility of purchasing10 acres of land on which to build the clubhouse and pitch. The company was very generous and today we can see the results.

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June 26th 1987 the clubhouse and juvenile pitch were opened by Dr. Mick Loftus, President of the G.A.A. This was the culmination of years of hard work. A senior pitch was eventually completed and opened along with the dressing rooms by Uachtarán CLG Sean Mac Thaidhg in May 2002. We now had a clubhouse, dressing rooms and two fields, one juvenile and one senior, at our facilities on the edge of Mungret village along with a third pitch nearby in the village,on loan from the County Council.

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In 2007, lands surrounding the club grounds were to become available and Mungret St. Pauls set up a committee who worked tirelessly over the next nine years to work with Limerick County Council to obtain the 16 acres of land for club development. This became a reality in May 2016 when both sides agreed on terms.

On Friday 8 June 2018 all paperwork was eventually agreed on the land but planning permission, additional requirements and Covid -19 meant a delay in commencing work.Committees, however,  were busy working behind the scenes so that development could begin straight away in 2021 to give the club 2 adult pitches, 2 juvenile pitches, an astroturf pitch and a ball alley along with a proposed new clubhouse to include more dressing rooms and meeting rooms.

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Hurling

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The first County Championship was won by the minor hurling team in 1935 with the junior title in 1937.

 

In the early 1960’s,Mungret and Crecora joined forces again with little success, parting ways in 1968. Mungret St. Pauls went on to win the county junior title on their own in 1969. The 70’s proved successful with the winning of the intermediate and minor hurling titles.

 

Many players from the club have worn the green jersey of Limerick with distinction at senior level; Liam O’Donoghue, Connie Keating, Mick Barron, Brian Tobin, Brian Begley and Dave Bulfin. Liam O’Donoghue was the only player to win a Senior All-Ireland. He played 37 championship matches for Limerick from 1973 to 1988.

He won1 All-Ireland(1973),1 All-Star(1981), 3 Railway cups with Munster(1976,1981,1984),2 National Leagues(1984and1985) and 4 Munster  Senior Championships(1973,1974,1980and1981)

 

All Ireland winners from Mungret St. Pauls were:

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Minor Hurling in 1940, Paddy McCarthy, Michael Fenton and Kevin O’Donoghue.

Junior Hurling 1941: Johnsie O’Donoghue, Paddy McCarthy, John Madden, Simon O’Riordan and Arthur O’Donoghue.

Junior Hurling 1957: Paddy Ryan

Senior Hurling 1973: Liam O’Donoghue

Intermediate Hurling 1998: Niall Murphy

U-21 Hurling 2000: Brian Begley, Colm Moriarty and David Bulfin

 

We had 2 members who refereed All-Ireland Senior Hurling finals

 

Bill O’Donoghuein 1951 and 1952

John O’Grady  in 1977

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Football

 

The late 70’s early 80’s saw a huge influx of people into the area. Football began to develop and county titles were won at U-12, U-14, U-16, Minor and Junior levels in 1990. The intermediate footballers won in 1997 gaining senior status.

Limerick have won only one Munster U-21 Football title in 2000, Brian Begley and Eoin Rice were on the team. Brian Begley, Darren Horan, Patrick Begley and Cillian Ryan have all playing for the Limerick senior footballers.

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Juvenile

 

Mungret St. Pauls GAA club have a long and respected tradition in promoting the Gaelic Games at every age level in the parish from U-6 up. Close links are maintained with the local primary schools, St. Nessans, St. Pauls, Gaelscoil an Ráithínand Educate Together. . Many of our players have represent Mungret St. Pauls and their schools in the CumannnamBunscol games and Primary Games in hurling, football, ladies football and camogie. Our club is at the heart of our community, being a hub for many local activities within our excellent facilities.

 

We have had no shortage of players wearing the green and white jersey though out the years and have fielded U-14 Féile teams each year to represent Mungret St. Pauls who have gone on and represented Limerick.

 

Mungret St. Pauls hosts 5 tournaments each year:

Pa O'Brien U-10 Hurling

Regina Long U-10 Camogie

Stephen Cahill U-10 Football

Raymond O'Hagan U-12 Football

Liam O'Donoghue U-12 Hurling

 

We also hold 3 camps each year for all our players from U-6 to U-14.They are held at Easter, the beginning of July and at the end of August(Cúl Camp).

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Ladies Football

 

Mungret St. Pauls Ladies Gaelic Football Club was officially formed in 1991 by Vera O’Brien, although we fielded a team at adult level and participated in competitions within the county before then.

 

From 1991 to 1995 we fielded just a senior team. Colette O’Grady and Catherine Murphy organised setting up underage training. 2002 brought the first championship titles in U-12B, U-14B and U-16B and we retained the U-12 and U-14 titles in 2003.

 

The first adult title was won in 1991, in the county Senior League.A Senior Championship title was to come in 1992, 1994 and 2013.

 

Many of our members have worn the green and white of Limerick at every level. In 2010 and 2013, five of our players -  Yvette Moynihan, Catherine Murphy, Olivia Giltenane, Martina Giltenane and Marie Claire Curtain - were on the successful Limerick Junior team that won the All-Ireland title. Marie Claire Curtain won the Player of the Match in 2013.

 

In 2018, Olivia Giltenane, Martina Giltenane, Cliodhna Ni Cheallagh and Jenni O’Malley won the All-Ireland Junior title with Jim Moran as a coach and Roisin Moran as water girl.

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Camogie

 

Mungret St. Pauls Camogie Club was founded in 2009 by Sinead Hickey and Teresa Fitzgerald and supported by a dedicated group of coaches and officers. The club began on a very small scale with a focus on underage teams, up to and including U12’s. 

 

From the outset, Mungret St. Pauls Camogie Club promoted a strong emphasis on participation, fun and encouraging girls to be active members of their local club. A number of successes at underage followed over the years which helped lay the foundations for the club to reach its ambition to field a team at adult level:a milestone that was reached in 2019. 

 

Our club has also had the honour of having a number of players represent MSP Camogie at county level on underage development squads, U16, minor & adult teams. We are hugely proud of these players’ achievements. 

 

Since its inception, the camogie club has been an active supporter of the ambition shown by club leadership to operate across a ‘One Club’ structure and foster positive relationships with our community.

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One Club Model

 

In 2010,Mungret St. Pauls GAA, Ladies Football and Camogie sections explored the idea of having all 3 clubs operate under the one banner. After a lot of work was put in place from a broad selection of committee members in February 2011, the One Club Model was launched by Christy Cooney, President of the GAA, and, though it has been adapted over the years, it is still in place today.

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GAA Oral History Project

 

In 2011, members of Mungret St. Pauls were interviewed as part of the GAA Oral History Project. Mungret St. Pauls had many willing history speakers, talking of their own personal times of GAA and how they got to where they are today. This is very interesting to listen to and really brings an insight into what GAA was like back when these young men were a little bit younger. Those who were interviewed were Pa O’Brien, Micheal Reynolds, Tony McMahon, Michael O’Grady, John O’Grady, Donal Fitzgibbon, Cyril Murphy (R.I.P.), Gerry McNamara, Noel Downey, Maurice Walsh and Raymond O’Hagan (R.I.P.).

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